Spanish eight seed David Ferrer faces six foot ten American John Isner for the eighth time. Ferrer holds a 6-1 head to head over the big serving American, with their last meeting coming in Bercy this last November, a three set win for the Spaniard. Ferrer and Isner play the last match on Hisense Arena today.
How They Got Here
Ferrer's road to the fourth round has been fairly comfortable so far. Ferrer dispatched of German Peter Gojowczyk 6-4 6-4 6-2 in the first round. In the next round, Ferrer played Australian Lleyton Hewitt, in a highly publicized match on the night session at Rod Laver Arena. Ferrer won the match in straight sets, 6-2 6-4 6-4, ending the two-time Grand Slam champion's storied career. In the next round, Ferrer beat American Steve Johnson, 6-1 6-4 6-4 to reach the fourth round.
Isner's path to the round of sixteen was much different, having to battle through four set matches and many tiebreaks in typical Isner fashion. Isner won his first round match against Pole Jerzy Janowicz in pretty convincing fashion, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3. In the second round, Isner came up against Spaniard Marcel Granollers. Isner fought through the match to win 6-3, 7-6, 7-6. In the next round, Isner came up against another Spaniard in number eighteen seed Feliciano Lopez. Isner battled through the match to eventually win in four sets 6-7, 7-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Previous Matchups
Ferrer and Isner have played on six times in their careers. Ferrer holds a 6-1 head to head over the American, with Isner's last win coming in Bercy in 2011. They have played one best of five set match, a Davis Cup encounter on clay in Spain in 2012. Ferrer won the match 6-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. Ferrer and Isner met again on clay in Spain, this time in Madrid, with Ferrer again coming out on top 6-4, 6-4. The pair's most recent matchup, a match on indoor hard courts in Paris Bercy in November of 2015, was another Ferrer win, with Ferrer winning 6-3, 6-7, 6-2.
Final Thoughts
Isner's serve will again be the key in this match. As often happens at grand slams, Isner appears to be serving great and playing well through the first three rounds, until he comes up against the top players, and started struggling with his serve. With Ferrer being one of the elite returners in the game, expect the Spaniard to be able to break the American's serve when needed and come up with the necessary goods to move on.
Prediction: Ferrer in four sets.